La Casita Criolla - Tatuaje Cigars
Connecticut U.S. Broadleaf puro
Corona - 5 1/8 x 42
This is only the second or third Tatuaje cigar I've ever had, so I am quite the novice. I Picked this cigar up today from a new B&M in my area. The place has been there for a year apparently, but I just recently found it. They had a decent Tat selection so I grabbed a few and decided to fire up the La Casita today and the following was my experience
Prelight: It's a good looking cigar. Nice wrapper without any blemishes. The cap tasted sweet and a bit tangy before clipping. Used Xi cutter. My first cut proved to be too small and left me with a REALLY tight draw, so I clipped it again. I got a more favorable draw, but it was still too tight. In retrospect, the stick could have used some dryboxing.
First few inches: The light was simple and the smoke was pretty thick. The fist thing I noticed was the complete lack of any pepper whatsoever. I can't really say I've ever had a smoke with ZERO pepper. This was a first for me. The flavors were earthy to begin with hints of sweetness. The texture was chewy, but the smoke didn't get too thick. I had to work at it to keep it going, or at least I thought I needed to. It never went out on me, but the draw was tough.
Middle inches: This is where it really took off for me. The sweet and earthy tones really melded together to create a flavor experience that I have never had. It was pretty awesome. It lacked complexity, which is to say the flavors didn't really change much. They made themselves know and that was about it. That sounds negative, but it really wasn't. This was the point when I looked online for box prices. I was impressed.
Final inches: This baby stayed consistent to the last puff. That might be the best way to describe it, consistent. The smoke stayed cool and never got harsh, as some sticks tend to do at the end. I smoked this one down further than I usually do. i really didn't want to put it down.
Final Thoughts: I loved it. I'd classify it as a Medium smoke through and through. It had enough flavor and strength to keep me interested. I liked that it wasn't a flavor or strength bomb. I would smoke this at any time of the day. I drank water but I feel like this would go well with anything from root beer to unsweetened iced tea to scotch. Maybe even a Guiness. I really only have one complaint and that was the draw and even that wasn't TOO bad.
Scores:
Price point: 10 - it was only $6
Appearance: 9.5 - just basing this on look and feel
Construction: 9.5 - the burn was sharp and the ash was stong
Draw: 7 - I'm confident this can be corrected with rest
Flavor: 9.8 - it was totally original to me and I loved it
Overall: 9 with draw issues, 9.75 without
All things considered, this is one of my favorite cigar experiences of all time. It's not the BEST cigar I've ever had, but when you take everything into consideration, it's up there.
